Brett Kissel (born May 27, 1990) is a Canadian

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer. He has had four number-one hits on the Canadian country chart with " Airwaves", " Drink About Me", "

A Few Good Stories "A Few Good Stories" is a song recorded by Canadian country artist Brett Kissel. The track was co-written by Ben Hayslip, Chris Stevens, and Rhett Akins. A second version of the track with Canadian indie pop band Walk off the Earth was released ...

", and " Make a Life, Not a Living".

Early life

Kissel was born in St. Paul, Alberta, the son of Brenda and Gordon Kissel. He has one older brother, Jamison. He grew up on a cattle ranch in northeastern Alberta's Flat Lake region, where his family operates the Wengzynowski North View cattle ranch.

Career

2000–2011: Early years

Kissel recorded his first album, ''Keepin' It Country'', when he was 12 years old. Kissel released three more albums, ''By Request'' in 2004, ''Tried and True – A Canadian Tribute'' in 2006 and ''My Roots Run Deep'' in 2008. In 2006, Kissel was nominated for the Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award at the

Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a g ...

Awards. Kissel was 16 years old at the time, making him the youngest CCMA nominee in the history of the awards show.

2012–2014: ''Started with a Song''

Kissel met manager Bob Doyle in 2012, who signed Kissel to a co-management contract with Louis O'Reilly. On May 10, 2013, Kissel signed a record deal with

Warner Music Canada Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...

. His debut single, " Started with a Song", was released on June 17. It became the most added song at Canadian country radio in its first week, surpassing a Canadian country radio record set by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

's "

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from her fourth studio album, ''Red'' (2012). It was released for digital download and to U.S. pop radio as the lead single from ''Red'' on Aug ...

". It debuted at number 87 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

for the week of July 27, 2013. The music video for the song premiered on

CMT Canada CMT is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which owns a controlling 90% interest) and Paramount Networks Americas (which owns the remaining 10%), owners of the flagship CMT channe ...

on June 27. Kissel's first album for Warner, also titled '' Started with a Song'', was released on October 1, 2013. On February 14, 2014, Kissel released his third single from his ''Started with a Song'' album titled "3-2-1". On March 29, 2014, Kissel won his first

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Breakthrough Artist of the Year, and also performed on the 2014 Juno Awards broadcast on CTV alongside

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumental ...

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner in 1973. Their 1970s catalogue included five top-40 albums and six US top-40 single ...

and

The Sheepdogs The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Jun ...

. In September 2014, Kissel led all country singers with eight nominations for the Canadian Country Music Awards held in Edmonton, Alberta.

2015–2018: ''Pick Me Up'' and ''We Were That Song''

In September 2017 Kissel won Male Artist of the Year, Interactive Artist of the Year, Country Music Program or Special of the Year and Video of the Year for I Didn't Fall in Love With Your Hair at the 2017

Canadian Country Music Awards The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a gr ...

. He also released a new album

We Were That Song ''We Were That Song'' is the third major label studio album recorded by Canadian country music singer Brett Kissel. It was released December 8, 2017 through Warner Music Canada. ''We Were That Song'' entered the Canadian Albums Chart at number 29 ...

on December 8, 2017. In 2018 he went on a tour across Canada to support the album.

2019–present: ''Now or Never'' and ''What Is Life?''

In September 2019, Kissel released his first American country radio single " Drink About Me", the lead single from his fourth major-label album '' Now or Never'' which was released on January 1, 2020. "Drink About Me" would become Kissel's second number one on the Canada Country chart, but wouldn't find a place on the American Country Billboard chart. "

She Drives Me Crazy "She Drives Me Crazy" is a song by English group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 as the first single from their second and final album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989). Peaking at No. 5 on the British singles chart in January 1989, it ...

" was released as the second single off the album in February 2020. In September 2020, Kissel released this third single off ''Now or Never'', "

" and picked up 4 CCMA Awards, winning Male Artist of the Year, Fan's Choice, Creative Director, and Album of the Year for ''Now it Never''. Kissel then signed his first American record deal with Verge Records, a Nashville-based partner of

ONErpm ONErpm (ONE Revolution People's Music) is a digital distribution service and fan engagement platform founded in 2010 by Emmanuel Zunz and Matthew Olim, the latter one of the co-founders of CDNow, a pioneer in digital music. The company offers su ...

. "A Few Good Stories" became Kissel's third Number One on Canada Country, "

" became Kissel's second Platinum-certified single, and " Drink About Me" was nominated for Single of the Year at the

2021 Juno Awards The Juno Awards of 2021, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented on 6 June 2021, observing the 50th anniversary of these awards. The main ceremonies were televised on CBC. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in Ma ...

. In March 2021, Kissel released the single " Make a Life, Not a Living", and announced his fifth major-label album ''

What Is Life? ''What Is Life? The Physical Aspect of the Living Cell'' is a 1944 science book written for the lay reader by physicist Erwin Schrödinger. The book was based on a course of public lectures delivered by Schrödinger in February 1943, under the ...

'', which was released on April 9, 2021. "Make a Life, Not a Living" debuted by setting a record as the most-added song at Canadian country radio in a single week ever. It later became his fourth career Number One at Canadian country radio, and his first song to chart in the top 50 of the ''

. Kissel won the "Fans' Choice" award at the

2021 Canadian Country Music Awards The 2021 Canadian Country Music Awards, honouring achievements in Canadian country music in 2021, were presented November 29, 2021, at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario. Hosted by Lindsay Ell and Priyanka, the ceremony was presented in-person, ...

in November 2021. In 2022, he released the single " Ain't the Same" with American vocal group

98 Degrees 98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American pop and R&B vocal group consisting of four vocalists: the group's founding member Jeff Timmons, brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, and Justin Jeffre. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, Cali ...

Personal life

Brett Kissel married Cecilia Friesen in July 2011 in Edmonton, Alberta. They now live in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2016, Cecilia gave birth to their daughter.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Christmas singles

Promotional singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kissel, Brett 1990 births Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Alberta Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Warner Music Group artists Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners People from the Municipal District of Bonnyville No. 87 21st-century Canadian male singers Juno Award for Country Album of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Male Artist of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Fans' Choice Award winners Canadian Country Music Association Album of the Year winners